Posted on 02/23/2021 9:04:42 AM PST by Kaslin
Thanks to experience with numerous hurricanes, we were prepared for the Texas power outage and no one slept in the cold at our house. When you are prepared, three days is not that bad.
I have lived along the Gulf Coast my entire life, mostly in the Houston Area. I lived and worked in Louisiana when Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gustav slammed into South Louisiana and have learned from my successes and failures and those of my friends.
After moving back home to Texas and a long period of relatively quiet storm activity, Hurricane Harvey was a test of different beast until one of the coldest winters in Texas history. Every storm has taught me that you need to have a plan to survive on your own or as a group for two weeks. I’ve also learned you can spend as little as $200 to survive with no city water, no power, and no heat for three days in zero-degree weather.
Every storm, and the periods afterward, have taught me something new to apply to my preparations for the next one. I’ve found that simple is better, something is going to happen that you did not plan for, and you or your friend group must solve your problems instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you.
Fresh out of college and with no preparation when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, I evacuated back to Texas. I learned that you should have a plan to evacuate for hurricanes and arrive back home with a plan to survive for weeks.
When I arrived back in Louisiana for work, some areas recovered quickly and others were figuring out they were going to have no power, water, or services for the long haul. A common generator theft resulted in the unsuspecting homeowner waking up to no power and a lawnmower running in their backyard to replicate the white noise of the generator while its owners were sleeping.
Lessons: Be prepared for long-term survival and buy a lock for the generator.
After the hurricane passed, I arrived in Houma, Louisiana after evacuating while carrying all my preparations to survive for two weeks, some of which I still have today.
One thing I was not ready for was the lack of gasoline and communication systems to support credit card transactions. My lessons learned were to have cash and keep more than ten gas cans (I currently have 13).
Owning simple, shelf-stable foods was a big advantage when trying to repair our home after storm damage with no power. Our friend group pooled resources and repaired each other’s fences and roofs after the storm, saving so much heartache and money.
Lessons: Cash and gas make good friends.
Even though we did not lose power with Hurricane Harvey in 2017, I was not prepared to wake up to water in the street at the time. Many people woke up with two options: evacuate via boat or wade through water.
I had purchased a water transfer pump before the storm, which saved an entire cul-de-sac from flooding due to a stopped-up storm drain. I learned rain gear does not keep you dry when walking in water.
As part of a small group that was doing high-water rescues all over Houston, I learned to buy dry bags and waterproof waders with booties in them as well as personal flotation devices. You never know when you will have to walk out of your house in hard rain, and you will be thankful that you are dry in that moment. Also, buy flood insurance. Many, many people learned that very expensive lesson during Harvey.
Lessons: Be prepared to evacuate your home in the rain. Know where high ground is located and how you are going to get there. Buy flood insurance.
By the time COVID-19 hit, my wife and I had started to focus on shelf-stable foods and a full pantry. When the crunch on water, food, and toilet paper hit, we saw the need to own more-significant water filtration and storage because water bottles are a temporary solution and people were waiting in lines for hours for these basic necessities.
We purchased a Lifestraw Pitcher and then the Lifestraw Community filter so we would not have to run out to buy water, but could store water in five-gallon cans and have the ability to filter rainwater. In Houston, a major water main broke, shutting off water to most of the city, amplifying a panic that was already slowly building in the early days of COVID-19.
Lessons: Water filtration and toilet paper are highly valuable resources.
Due to the storm, our family, which includes an 18-month-old and a newborn, were out of power at 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 14. We were out of power with snow and freezing temperatures for 41 hours before the power came on for eight, then was off for 18 hours, before staying on—for now. The water pressure went to a trickle for us after the first day and much sooner than that for other folks.
We were prepared for the power outage and no one slept in the cold at our house. When you are prepared to be self-sufficient for two weeks, three days is not that bad. Here is what we did, and then I will explain how you can do it for far less.
Generator: We purchased a Winco HPS12000HE Tri-Fuel Generator in 2016 after a bunch of research. Generators are tricky in that fuel demand can be an issue in a disaster area if it is too big, but too small of a generator limits what you can operate in your home. As it was, our Winco burned one gallon of gas per hour, and in a prolonged power-outage we could have swapped to natural gas.
A carbon monoxide monitor is a necessity with a generator. Also, hire an electrician to connect your generator to your house or show you how. It is a simple installation and it will make your life so much easier versus cords everywhere in your home.
Water: We had already filled one of the bathtubs before the power went out, an old hurricane preparation trick, so we could maintain functioning toilets. It quickly became clear we would need water for the long term.
Melting snow and ice on the roof during the day was a significant resource, and we just needed to collect it. I emptied six IRIS 82-quart totes and started stationing them on downspouts of the gutters and other places. In 24 hours, we had collected 120 gallons of water, of which we used a small portion for flushing toilets and bath water.
In the South, crawfish pots are fairly commonplace and we have one for our annual crawfish boil. We used the crawfish pot to boil the water and then used it for baths and rinsing dishes. We used one tote for scrubbing dishes and the sink with boiled rain water for rinsing.
Beats an unnatural one!
Them things are SPOOKY!
and young folks can live for about 3 seconds without their phone!
Nothing would happen unless the load on the circuit exceeded 30 amps then the breaker trips.
Pfft!
Mine was a LOT cheaper, and shorter, too.
I already had a dryer cord, as most new dryers come with TWO of them, depending on the type of plug in the wall.
All I needed to buy was the other plug.
I’ve taken only brushing hits on the barn, but last Halloween the barn brush came with a crushed van roof as well.
Luckily, it was an old one I’ve just been storing stuff in.
Might be worth checking what would be involved in putting in a hand-pump for backup.
Or at least a large tank, so you only need electricity for short periods of time.
The Interlock Kit is a little different, but same idea. Can’t have the generator breaker closed if the main is closed. Only one can be closed at a time.
Here, this shows it:
Inspections would depend on the type of installation. For new construction it generally would require a ufer grounding inspection of the foundation rebar prior to pouring the concrete, a secondary electrode could be required and if the foundation was existing for say an addition two electrodes would be required instead of the ufer ground. A rough wiring inspection would be required prior to sheetrocking to insure wiring meets code but they wouldn’t necessarily match it up with any plans. A service inspection would be required prior to energizing it, it would also have to meet the utility’s guidelines too. A final inspection would be required at the end of wiring but prior to the final building permit sign off. Additional inspections would be solar if installed, trench inspections if any underground wiring was done. A slab inspection would be done with the grounding inspection if needed. A fire alarm inspection would be done to see if they were installed to fire code and to see if they were functional. Indiana is still on the 2008 code, Mass is on the 2020 edition which is four code updates ahead of Indiana.
Point being is the weakest part of a circuit becomes the fuse, I seen all kinds of crazy crap over the years. What was once a code compliant installation because a hazard because people modify stuff without fully understanding what they are doing. They hook up a generator with a 50 amp output to a 30 amp circuit, the panel breaker trips and they replace that with a 50 or 60, 70 amp breaker but the wiring remains rated at 30 amps. Maybe they are lucky, maybe not.
“can hardly”
Elsie:
The worst language I’ve ever learned or used was pulling on a starter rope, particularly a chainsaw starter rope. My gas saw is a big Husqvarna with a 36 inch bar and a compression release and that helps a lot. It is an excellent saw and I loved it because it ALWAYS started on the second or third pull. It still will if it was used regularly. I took it to the saw shop about three years ago for them to start and it took off on the first pull. They put stabilized gas in it and I used about half of that tank and it has sit since.
I still can’t pull the rope more than three times and remain standing. I can’t stand more than a minute or two. I use a walker everywhere I go.
KevinB:
For the work that my wife and I do (primarily my wife) we use a cheap electric chainsaw on an extension cord. It does a remarkable job on downed limbs and general pruning and clean up. The problem is that we have massive trees down and broken off that need to be cut up.
There is also the problem of charging batteries when the power is out.
Both:
We were out for 11 days before the power was restored yesterday. Thank God that we didn’t have subfreezing temperatures during that time. What joy it is to be back among civilization and have running water and flushing toilets, not to mention hot showers and a warm bed. A warm house that stays that way 24 hours a day without having to fire up the stove every two or three hours is another blessing. We are still on a high and are so appreciative of what we were taking for granted before. Sometimes life is good and you just don’t know it.
My story is from the 80’s
The house shell was constructed by a fella that demo’d buildings in indianapolis. He constructed a shell of a large two story house from used material, on a lot that had been used to dump dirt and broken concrete.
The subfloors were made up of different thickness of wood; that I used a LOT of rough sandpaper in the floor sander to knock it all down to a level I could put a finished floor down.
A separate 3 car garage was built behind it. the only electricity to the place was the temporary construction pole in the yard.
It had basically been abandeoned for a few years as he and his bank were fighting. I got it in a bank sale for pennies on the dollars. Seemed like a good deal at the time.
Boy! Did I put in a LOT of sweat equity on that thing!!
Are you old enough to remember when houses were wired with aluminum?
What a mess THAT left us!
I had an old house in Indy that had a four fuse box attached to the old knob and tube. the insulation was disintegrating, alum had been spliced in. lived in that thing for years before gutting it out for new stuff
Indeed!
That was ME as a young pup in that first house I just described.
I was working in the electronics industry and figured since I could build and repair quite complex circuitry, I was able to do simple house wiring; too.
Well, the wife wanted a disposal in the kitchen sink and "No problem" says I.
I install it, wired it, turned it on and got a BIG surprise!
That was when I learned that in electronic stuff, while most all signal wires were white and the black wire is ground; in a house...
(Did I mention my high school buddy and best pal was a licensed electrician?)
Mine’s a Husky; too; but not near THAT big!
I understand that having a battery starter on a chain saw would make it heavy to use; but I do NOT see why some manufacturer hasn’t come up with an external starter like race cars use.
When I bought my snowblower I made sure to get on with electric start; even though is is 110 AC electric. (A battery start like my lawn mower wouldn’t weigh it down much.
And why doesn’t my generator have a battery starter?
GRRRRrr....
Amen!
GOD is ALWAYS good; and a lot of times we don't believe it.
In an emergency, and need to drive someone bleeding out to the hospital, should you not use a car because it doesn’t have a working seat belt or drive above the speed limit?
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